A Gift For Rodney
by WritinginCT
Summary: Ronon gives a recuperating Rodney a little gift and some TLC. Rodney/Ronon, fluff, pre-slash


Title: A Gift For Rodney  
Author: CJ aka WritinginCT  
Fandom: Stargate Atlantis  
Pairing: Rodney/Ronon  
Rating: G  
Warnings: none  
Categories: Fluff, Pre-slash  
Disclaimer: I don't own the recognizable characters I'm just inspired by them. Hopefully they've had fun playing in my sandbox.  
Summary: Ronon gives a recuperating Rodney a little gift and some TLC.  
Status: Complete 11/22/08 1630 words

--

As they surveyed the destroyed village, hoping against hope to find survivors, Ronon's ears picked up a sound coming from one of the half-destroyed houses. Picking his way carefully through the rubble he headed for the mournful crying that was coming from underneath a pile of debris from a collapsed wall.

One would never know it simply by looking at Ronon, but he in fact had a gentle soul. It was that innate gentleness in him that both children and animals responded well to. And it was that innate gentleness that recoiled upon seeing the death underneath the plank he lifted out of the way to expose what was crying. There were five dead kittens, all crushed by a heavy beam, and their mother who was only half crushed, a beam flattening her back half. Ronon did not hesitate. And with sorrow in his eyes and a quick twist of his merciful hands, he put the poor beast out of her misery.

He stood and let the plank cover them again and turned to go with a heavy sigh. He had just reached the doorway when he heard a little high-pitched meow behind him. He turned around and couldn't help but crack a little smile. Attempted to clamber over a pile of debris to get to Ronon was an apparent sixth kitten.

Ronon took a step closer and crouched down as the tiny mewing thing made its way over to him. The kitten was smaller than the others and Ronon suspected that he was probably the runt of the litter. His fur was short and orange with a striped pattern that had no rhyme, reason, or symmetry. And his little tail was bent about a quarter of the way down at an unnatural angle suggesting it was broken. This appeared to be the kitten's only injury.

He was certainly not the finest specimen of a kitten. He fearlessly went to Ronon's extended hand though and contently settled himself down and started purring loudly when Ronon stuck him inside his shirt to keep him warm. There was just no question about if he were getting left behind.

Ronon met back up with the rest of the team. They all compared notes; there were no survivors. Well, except for the one of the feline variety. Neither John or Teyla said a word about the kitten, although their smirks and knowing looks screamed volumes.

John did tease though as Teyla dialed the gate, "Just wait 'til McKay hears about this. He's going to be impossible. You know he left his own cat back on Earth."

Ronon didn't reply, instead just grinned and gently stroked the little head peeking out of his shirt.

--

Rodney was miserable. After a full week in the infirmary recovering from pneumonia brought on by being held for ransom for a week in a damp, moldy cell by a spoiled prince. Rodney was now back in his own quarters with strict orders to rest.

He was tired of resting. But on the flip side he didn't feel well enough to do much more than sit on the couch regardless.

He was so grumpy that everyone except Carson stopped visiting him altogether. So when he realized that there was someone at his door, he was surprised.

Rodney was even more surprised to see Ronon when he shuffled over and opened the door.

"You don't look so good," Ronon said as he put his huge hand on Rodney's forehead. "And you got a fever," he added as he bodily turned Rodney around and guided him back towards the general direction of the couch.

It was a testament to how completely awful Rodney still felt as he simply let Ronon manhandle him back under the layers of blankets on the couch. The brief activity also brought on another bout of deep coughing that completely sapped any of Rodney's remaining energy and left him without a snappy comeback.

When he dared tried talking again it was the mission he inquired after. "How'd it go on M... uh... M where ever it was you guys went earlier? Anything interesting?"

Ronon sadly shook his head and replied, "Everything was destroyed. Looks like they fought hard though."

Rodney frowned. "You know, I was hoping for some good news for a change."

"Sorry."

There was a rumbling near Ronon's midsection and Rodney teased, "Skip lunch?"

The shy smile that crossed Ronon's face wasn't one that Rodney saw often. He would catch it every once in a while if pretty girls flirted with Ronon. And come to think of it, there had been that one time where it had been a pretty boy doing the flirting. But why he would be smiling like that right now Rodney had absolutely no idea.

He knew a second later when Ronon reached into his shirt and pulled out... a kitten. And it had to be the scrawniest, scruffiest, most pathetic excuse for a kitten that Rodney had ever seen. He found said kitten deposited on the blankets covering his chest a second later.

"Be careful of his tail. Doc says it's broken."

A genuinely goofy grin spread over Rodney's face, the first of it's kind to be seen in weeks, as his fingers were pounced upon. "Where did you get a kitten?"

Rodney caught the slight flinch on Ronon's face but it was gone a heartbeat later. "He was in one of the collapsed buildings. He's the only thing that survived."

The kitten was purring loudly as it made itself comfortable on Rodney's chest with his little paws kneading the blanket. He chuckled and said, "What are you going to name him?"

"That's up to you."

"Me? But he's your cat."

The shy smile was back on Ronon's face and his eyes crinkled playfully. But this time it was directed _at_ Rodney. When Rodney realized that, a sliver of excitement at the possibility went through him but also confusion. Was Ronon _flirting_ with him?

"Yours now," came Ronon's teasing reply. And if Ronon's expression hadn't given Rodney a big clue already, when he reached over and ruffled Rodney's hair it really sunk in.

Before Rodney could reengage his brain to say something, Ronon pulled his hand back in embarrassment and stood up abruptly. He made a show of going to look at some of the pictures Rodney had hanging on the walls.

Another coughing fit on Rodney's part covered up the uneasy silence in the room. Apparently the kitten didn't appreciate being jostled around by it and meowed loudly.

Ronon turned back towards Rodney and said, "He's probably hungry. One of the biologists said she's find him something to eat. I should go see if she's got something yet."

Rodney's own stomach gave a little growl at the thought of food and the kitten pounced on the noisy offender. Ronon chuckled and added, "Guess the cat's not the only one who's hungry. You want something from the mess?"

The offer surprised Rodney as did the amount of words coming from the normally terse man. Playing fetch and carry was not known to be one of Ronon's favorite activities. But it gave Rodney an opening and he took it. "Well, maybe. You know... if you're hungry and going anyway, maybe you could bring back something for both of us." He ended with a nervous tilt of his chin.

The flirty grin was back as Ronon asked, "You want to eat with me? Here?"

"Yes. Why not? We can talk about cat names."

"Okay." The grin was still there but Ronon's word economy was back in force.

Ronon headed for the door but paused before he opened it. Without turning around he asked, "This thing with you being from Canada. That mean you don't have to follow that "don't ask, don't tell" stuff Sheppard told me about?"

The perverse side of Rodney would have paid a fortune to have been witness to that discussion, just to have seen the look on Sheppard's face. But there was something in Ronon's tone that told him this was important to the other man so he answered lightly, "That's correct. My country is much more opened minded about those sort of things. And besides, I'm a civilian anyway. I can date whoever I want."

Ronon didn't say anything right away and still didn't turn around but he did nod before raising his hand and opening the door. As he walked out he said, "I'll be back."

When the door had closed behind Ronon, Rodney sat there gently stroking the kitten's fur. As the kitten started back up with purring that sounded like a half-dead prop plane trying to take off, Rodney chuckled and said to the kitten, "I really hope this all isn't a fever induced hallucination."

A while later Rodney was dozing soundly and woke when he felt a warm hand on his forehead. Ronon's husky voice coming from above him teased, "Your fever's down. I brought us food."

Rodney sat up and looked around as he tried to wake up. The kitten was on the floor with it's face buried in a little bowl of mush making happy noises and Ronon had sat down next to him on the couch.

Ronon handed him a spoon and a container of soup and actually laughed out loud when Rodney asked, "So earlier wasn't a fever-induced hallucination then?"

Ronon shook his head, his eyes full of mirth. He reached over and ruffled Rodney's hair again playfully and simply answered, "No."

Rodney grinned and started rambling, "Good. So I was thinking about names for our kitten. We obviously can't do Schrodinger, it been done to death. No pun intended. My cat that I left back on Earth was Copernicus so that's out. I sorta like Galileo but I don't know...."

--  
the end.


End file.
